In a groundbreaking announcement, Web3 gaming leader, The Sandbox, revealed the launch of an open publishing platform alongside a massive 100M SAND Game Maker Fund. The news, unveiled at its inaugural Global Creators Day in Hong Kong, sent bullish vibes through the Web3 community, high lighting a robust future for user-generated content (UGC).
Sandbox Brings Instant Publishing And No-Code Game Making
The Sandbox, a leading name in the Web3 gaming market, has been doing creativity within the metaverse. With the latest developments announced on November 3, 2023, the platform not only commits to further supporting its robust network of over 130,000 creators and 24,000 LAND owners but also gears up for an ambitious leap towards housing 2,000 user-generated experiences by 2024.
Considering that a significant portion—30%—of The Sandbox’s five million-strong user base is situated in Asia, co-founders Arthur Madrid and Sebastien Borget strategically chose Hong Kong to host the inaugural Global Creators Day event.
In what could be termed a creative revolution, The Sandbox has eliminated the initial application barrier for LAND owners, allowing them to publish their experiences on The Sandbox Map immediately. This update swings open the gates of the metaverse to UGC, creating an explosion of creativity from game producers on the platform.
The anticipated update to The Sandbox’s no-code Game Maker, slated for release before the year’s end, aims to further lower the threshold for content creation. The new version 0.9 is expected to enhance the ease and functionality of game design with new gameplay mechanics, templates, and social interactions, democratizing game development like never before.
Nicola Sebastiani, Chief Content Officer of The Sandbox, said, “We value experiences. We value the worlds you build, the stories you weave, and the adventures you design.”
100M SAND Game Maker Fund Boosts Creators
Since its inception, The Sandbox Game Maker Fund has been a pillar of support for creators, helping over 200 projects with a substantial $10M investment. However, with the initiation of the new 100M SAND fund, the platform has expanded its sectors.
Global Creators Day served as a crucial moment for The Sandbox’s leadership to enhance their commitment for the Web3 community. This mission is gaining momentum with the introduction of eight distinct cultural and geographic districts within its virtual world this year, such as Voxel Madness, MegaCity 3, and Lion City, among others.
With more than 125,000 LAND parcels sold—accounting for three-quarters of the virtual map—the platform is nurtured by a vibrant tapestry of over 24,000 LAND owners. The year 2023 also saw the roll-out of nineteen new avatar collections within The Sandbox ecosystem, in addition to the integration of over 50 collections from other esteemed NFT projects.
Arthur Madrid, CEO and Co-Founder of The Sandbox, said, “We spent the last two years focused on building our Game Maker and VoxEdit products for creators. Web3 puts creators first by enabling a new kind of control, provenance, incentive, and royalty structure. Whether you make music, games, art, fashion, architecture, or any other content, The Sandbox is an easy to learn creative platform that allows creators to take advantage of a new system of control, ownership, and revenue for their content.”
The Sandbox’s entertainment ecosystem is growing with nine new virtual neighborhoods and 50+ avatar collections coming in 2023, alongside a movie-themed LAND sale. Doing partnerships with celebrities and IPs, such as Avenged Sevenfold, the platform is hosting 30+ contests to spotlight the best user creations.
As The Sandbox furthers its metaverse expansion, with a mobile version on the edge, it aims to draw in a global audience, supported by a wide range of partners from Warner Music to Atari, strengthening its role as a creative hub where users are the architects of their own digital experiences.
